The modern slip evolved in tandem with dresses and skirts and has generally been subject to the same fashion trends. Early slip-like garments include relatively bulky petticoats that were popular in the nineteenth century and cotton linings of the twentieth century. Today, “slip” means a relatively thin, generally opaque or translucent lining, which includes a skirt portion and is intended to be worn as an undergarment. “Skirt” means that part of a dress, coat, robe or other article of clothing intended to hang below the waist and encompass at least a portion of both of the wearer's legs, and excludes any covering which extends around and along one of the wearer's legs individually such as, for example, a trouser leg.
While slips have met with almost universal acceptance, they are subject to unwanted displacement along the body of the wearer. This unwanted displacement is both unsightly and uncomfortable, and is sometimes referred to as “riding up”.
One example of a slip is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,350,848, issued to Starkweather. The slip of the '848 patent reportedly facilitates passage of air between and through the slip and the outer skirt. However, the slip of the '848 patent appears to be susceptible to riding up.
Clothing designers have from time to time redesigned separate garments to produce a single, unitary undergarment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,121,005, issued to Farnsworth, describes an undergarment combining four separate articles of clothing into a single, unitary undergarment. The '005 patent reports that a slip-, panty-, bust supporter- and skirt-supporter combination is worn under a dress in lieu of separate undergarments.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,419,940, issued to Mills, describes a combination of a panty and a petticoat to form a single, unitary undergarment. These unitary undergarments, to the extent that they include skirts, are not immune to riding up on the wearer's body.
Undergarments have also been incorporated into outer garments to form unitary, multifunctional clothing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,037,331, issued to Savage, describes a skirt to which bloomers are directly attached. The unitary garments are improvements in that they require fewer garments to clothe the wearer. However, neither the unitary undergarments nor the unitary outer garments, by themselves, solve the problem of a slip riding up.
Ordinarily, a slip is a loosely fitting, nonconforming garment. However, some slips have been combined with girdles or corsets, or stand alone in a manner that restricts or controls the shape of the body. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,399,679, issued to Barg, a slip is combined with a legged girdle. Front and back panels are reportedly attached to the girdle, so that an onlooker cannot see through the garment when it is worn in public.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,392, issued to Dzelzkalns, describes a relatively confining, no-slip undergarment. The garment of the '392 patent combines shorts constructed of elastic material with a front panel that serves as a built-in slip. The elastic material is said to keep pantyhose in place and to retain the slip in its proper position on the wearer's body. However, a need still exists for a loosely fitting, free-flowing slip that maintains its position and is resistant to riding up.
A relatively recent and currently popular development in slip design is known as a “slimmer slip.” The slimmer slip includes panels constructed of a carefully-controlled elastic material, which is engineered to eliminate wrinkles in certain portions of the skimmer slip and to gently smooth the wearer's figure without significantly constricting the wearer's body. However, slimmer skirts are very susceptible to riding up. A need exists for an improved slimmer skirt that does not ride up.
Wearers would welcome a freely flowing slip that is immune to unwanted skirt displacement. Desirably, the freely flowing slip moves naturally with the wearer and flounces in a graceful and attractive manner. Preferably, the freely flowing slip is less restrictive and more comfortable, as compared to previously known undergarments. More preferably, the freely flowing slip can be made in a wide array of styles and designs, and constructed from a variety of fabrics.